Mom Charged With Beating Baby So Badly She Had a Stroke Gets Visitation Rights

A mother and her boyfriend have been charged with beating her 1-year-old daughter so badly that she had a stroke. The mom, April Koch, 22, and her boyfriend Joshua Grabowski, 22, are now expecting a child of their own. The little girl, who is now 2, lives with her father. The girl, Gabriella Berry, suffered a fractured skull after the pair said she fell from her crib. However, doctors testified that the little girl's injuries were consistent with abuse. And yet the mother still has visitation rights.

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Koch and Grabowski have been charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Her alleged abuse left her having seizures and she must see a therapist three times a week, and she wears a brace on her left arm and left leg.

Despite all of this, Koch still has supervised visits with her daughter four and a half hours a week. Presumably this is because Koch hasn't been found guilty yet -- but if she IS guilty, imagine that little girl having to see her abuser every week?

Her father, Robert Berry, told WTAE:

The way that it happened, I'm not thrilled about, but being that we do have it, and knowing that she's safe all the time now, it's a pretty good feeling. It's a relief.

Well, the father is being nicer than I would be. He says he suspected abuse before the alleged abuse that almost killed her. There had been previous hospital visits. I get that if she hasn't been found guilty yet, it's hard to pull all parental rights. But don't you think authorities would sooner be safe than sorry?

Additionally, Koch is pregnant. If she's found guilty, what happens to that baby?

Thank goodness this little girl survived and is now with her dad -- but you have to wonder how those visits make her feel.

Do you think she should have visitation rights even though she hasn't had a trial yet?